Showing posts with label Helpful Hints. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Helpful Hints. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Mid-Summer Update (Photo heavy post)

My Rue playing in his new "cat fort"
 
Some gorgeous lilies from my mom's garden! (Thanks mom!) 
 
 My kiddos by new herb garden. This was a spring bulb/rose garden. I managed to kill all of the roses. Boo! So this year I ripped almost everything out and planted herbs. This garden is right by the kitchen, perfect spot to plant herbs. The smell is awesome too!
 
(Fun tip: use the wine bottles to keep the delicate plants hydrated. Instead of buying water-globes) Although I do get teased for having an alcoholic garden. Ha ha ha!
 
 I trained the morning glories to grow over my alligator.
 
 I feel lucky, I never planted these they just show up every year. (I think these may have be a result of bird droppings. Yay for re-seeding plants!)

I had planted two varieties of clematis back in spring. Unfortunately they didn't survive. (Bugs, heat and rabbits.)
 
 I have been really busy! I dug this entire garden out. It was full of over grown hostas and half-dead irises. I split all of the annuals...which left me with tons of plants. I decided to add some more colorful  and fun textured foliage.
 
 These didn't get as tall as I had hoped. They will be moved up front next year.
 
 I loooove the colors! They also have such fun frilly edges.
 
 
 I fell in love with this vine flower the first time I saw them. The dark center makes me think of a black-hole. (Yeah...I'm a bit odd. Ha!)
 
I ended up planting two of these.
 
My first kohlrabi of the season. Yum! (Notice the Buddy bum on the left. Cute!)
 
 My sweet little gardening girl! She always stays close and wants to investigate the garden.
 
 The cabbage patch. (Please ignore all of the weeds. Its been too damned hot to be weeding.)
 
Cucumber vines.
 
 Zucchinis or butternut squash-to-be. (I forgot which...they look the same.)
 
 Green pepper blossoms. Yessss! This is the first year they have survived. The animals have always eaten them. Boo!
 
Garden tip: For repelling animals pests, I use a three prong approach: Liquid fence, smelly compost and cat litter. Yes, you read that right.

I put soiled cat litter into plastic bags and place them around the garden.(Double and triple bag it to prevent contaminate your soil/veggies.) When they don't stink anymore I throw them away.

This have been the most effective pest repellent for me.
 
 A funky bug on a volunteer sunflower. (Another gift from the birds)
 
 Pumpkin blossom. I thought it would be fun to try mini-pumpkins.
 
 Tomatoes. YUM!
 

 
 Thank you for pollinating my tomatoes little bee/bug thing!
 
 Nature's jewels: rain drops. (Brussels sprouts)
 
 Lovely purple cabbage.
 
 The cabbage head is beginning to form. Yay!
 
 Ha! Cabbage head made me think of the Kids In The Hall skit... (Cabbage head is such a creep!)
 
 Bud guarding the raspberries.
 
 Boy, the birds were good to me this year! They gave blackberries this year too! We ended up with 7 volunteer black berry canes. Awesome!
 
Raspberries. They are big this year!
 
 
 Blossoms form the mock-orange tree.
 

 
 A cool cucumber tendril.
 
I hope you enjoyed the tour through my gardens.
 

Monday, May 27, 2013

Some Important Info...

Hi folks,

I am just had to share two sites that I thought would be helpful



http://www.movietriggers.com/


http://movietriggerwarnings.tumblr.com/

They are databases for movies with possible triggering events. For example: if sexual violence is  something you can't stand to watch...check the database.

I haven't had time to fully check them out, but this is a great step in the right direction!
: )

XOXO
Finn

Monday, May 13, 2013

Mother's Day Monday

 

Awesome:
♦One of the funniest Mother's Day cards I have ever seen!
♦A Man Named Pearl Awesome documentary about a cool man and his amazing yard! (Available on Netflix) Check out pictures of his topiaries! They are unbelievable!!!!
♦Will Wheaton explains why being a nerd is awesome

"True Facts About the Tarsier" (Content warning: swearing)

Art:
http://frodesignco.com/all-work/

Beauty:
♦Oil Cleansing...it really works! (I have been using coconut oil to clean my face and my skins has greatly improved!)
♦X-ray themed nails, using temporary tattoo paper

Beauty is a Beast:
♦Model scouts approaching girls out side of an eating disorder clinic (Content warning: images of very underweight women, may be triggering to some.) 
♦Photo-shop phoniness Hall of Shame Again...(Content warning: images of very underweight women, may be triggering to some.) 
♦If beauty hurts...why go along with it? This excerpt was a huge eye opener for me:
 
The FDA report states patients [Who have gotten implants] must get MRIs every two years to screen for “silent ruptures” of the silicone implants, which don’t deflate when they tear like saline implants so you don’t know when they’re leaking. That’s an extra $2,000 biannually for women who have elected to breast enhancement! Add it all up and the original $5K to $10K procedure will now cost a 25-year-old woman at least another $35K for re-implantation and $30K for the recommended number of MRIs throughout her life!

DIY:
♦Garden art (Glass flowers)
♦All pourpose healing salve

Helpful Hints:
♦Holy cow! Jillee has 66 uses for coffee filters.
♦Tired of your boring old fridge? Wallpaper it.
♦Get rid of mold with tea tree oil

Feminism:
♦Dirty Girls; a film about some exceptionally forward thinking girls. I would have loved to be friends with these girls!
♦Gender is a lens that behavior is viewed through... I wish this wasn't true.
♦Awesomeness Cut the puppet strings ladies!
♦Boho-Perfectionism... The new Stepford Wife persona? A great read, about guilt for not being effortlesssly perfect.
♦Body issues comic This is great

Noms:
♦Make your own blooming onion?! (Good, but oh so bad!)
♦Yeast raised wafles These sound sooo good.

Think Piece:
♦Where do those affordable mass produced clothes come from?  What are the working conditions like? More info on unethical brands

WTF:
♦I love cute cat pictures, but sushi cats???

Hope everyone had a great Mother's Day!

Sorry for posting late, I was spending time with my Mom. I had to work on Sunday! Boo!

Monday, January 28, 2013

Metamorphopsia* Monday




Art:
♦Amazing painting/sculptures."Airplane" is my favorite
♦Scotland's Secret Sculpture Strikes Again (Love the alliteration!!) .
♦Portraits made in ink coffee and tea
♦Amazing distorted sculptures, and more here (its difficult to describe...just go look.

*metamorphopsia: a defect of vision in which objects appear to be distorted; usually due to a defect in the retina. (It seemed to be a fitting title due to the distorted sculptures.)

Awesome:
♦X-men make up artist: Gordon Smith
♦Sea creature cakes...so cool!

DIY:
♦Make a photo wallpaper
♦Paper marbling
♦Everything you need to know about soap making

Feminism:
♦School tells victim of bullying: Get a breast reduction (Makes me so ill!)
♦Two grown women bullied into having breast reductions (Choosing a reduction is one thing, but being bullied into it is sad.)
♦Is plastic surgery becoming the norm in Korea?
♦Yesss! Actresses strike back to sexist interview questions.
♦This image really spells out societies judgement

Health/wellness:
♦What happened to downtime?

Helpful Hints:
♦Tips for writing stellar thank-yous
♦Shoes to tight: Freeze them!

LOL:
♦This sounds like me...
♦I am not a fan of Valentine's Day either...

Noms:
♦5 things to do with cauliflower
♦Mini cheese balls (great party idea)
♦Coffee and Orange Chocolate truffles

Positivity:
♦A great analogy: keep growing

Monday, January 21, 2013

Madrigal Monday



Awesome:
♦Children's book about acceptance
♦Awesome working dogs (featuring several corgis!!!)
♦Find Momo (Think Where's Waldo, but with a cute dog.)

Diy:
♦Cardboard kids playhouse (would be great as cat playhouse too.)
[The Diy's are getting harder to find. Everything is all mushy, red, or pink. Ugh.]

Helpful Hints:
♦Jilliee's readers share a bunch of awesome tips
♦Looking at one's tattoo = acceptable, touching = rude/creepy (I have experienced this. I have a large tattoo across my shoulders, which peeks out of shirts. I had someone pull down the back of my shirt to look at my back!)

Feminism:
♦Malala has been discharged from the hospital!

Lol:
♦Scotch-tape portraits

Mental Health/Self Care:
♦A guide to dealing with haters. (AKA: Trolls)
♦Slow down, let creativity into your life
♦Seven tips to lower stress

Noms:
♦Awesome crunchy potatoes
♦Golden Snitch Truffles
♦Cream puffs with pomegranate cheesecake filling (G.F.)
♦Need comfort food? Texas Cheese Fries
♦Lentil-mushroom burgers (Veg.)
♦Old-fashioned doughnuts (G. F.) This is for you Nancy!

Have a great week!

Monday, November 26, 2012

Friday, November 23, 2012

Gift Ideas*

 
Need some gift ideas? I put together a list to help you get inspired. I broke each category down by price, from big spender, to affordable, and even a DIY option. Happy gifting!

For the perpetually cold

Hey big spender:
♦Smart Wool base layer separates Women's  Men's $30- $120
♦100% Alpaca Wool Reversible Throw Blanket, Dark Purple $90

Affordable finds:
♦Smart wool socks Women's   Men's $15-$30
♦Chenille throw $25

DIY:
♦Make warm boot toppers/leg warmers Free to $10
♦Make recycled mittens from an old sweater Free to $10

For the foodie:

Hey big spender:
♦Bon Appetit Gourmet Gift Basket $95
♦Sophisticated Gourmet Fruit Basket $100

Affordable finds:
♦Meat, cheese and snack baskets $9-$40
♦Stubb's Smokin' Bar-B-Que Grill Set, 6 pc $17

DIY:
♦Box cake mix cookies Approximately $3 per batch
♦Cinnamon sugar pretzels About $3-4 per batch

For the coffee or tea lover:

Hey big spender:
♦Great Arrivals Extra Large Jumpin' Java: Gourmet Coffee Gift Basket $100
♦Coffee Bean Direct Green Bean Sampler $60
♦Traditional Teatime Basket $50
♦Teavana® Tea Gift Set $70

Affordable finds:
♦Berres Brothers Holiday Coffees $10-$20
♦Newman's Own Organic Ground, Colombian Especial, Medium Roast - 10 oz $8
♦Strawberry Misaki Blooming Tea $20 (Blooming tea looks fun!)
♦Tazo flavor assortments from $3-12

DIY:
♦Dry coffee mixes from $5-$10 

♦Homemade pumpkin spice coffee creamer $5-$8
♦Make your own tea bags  free -$5
♦Make Your Own Herb Tea Blend $2-$10 (depending on the batch size and spices)
 
For the music lover:

Hey big spender:
♦Beatles Box set $125
♦Jazz: The Smithsonian Anthology [Box set] $101

Affordable finds:
♦A Charlie Brown Christmas: Sound Track $4 for mp3's up to $20 for CD
♦Rockabye Baby! Lullaby Renditions of Nirvana $15

DIY:
Mixed CD's rule! Lots of options
♦Traditional Christmas mix
♦Funny Christmas mix
♦Non- Christmas mix


Or, if none of these suggestions will work:

Jillie's super list of simple hand made gifts! Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5!


*I am not affiliated with any suppliers, retailers or shops. I cannot guarantee the quality of any products or services.

Monday, September 10, 2012

Marble Monday


Art/Photography:
♦Water wigs

Cute:
♦Cutest Instagram ever!

DIY:
♦Boot supports/shapers (Support inserts to hold their shape while they aren't being worn.)
♦OR...if your are lazy like me...a rolled up magazine does the trick too!
♦Ridiculously easy way to snazz-up shoes
♦Make your own colored camera filters
♦Lacey toe socks (Cover just the toes, not the socks for each toe. Eww.) Update= they sell them at Payless

Feminism:
♦So size 8 is the new "ok" size?
♦Arg! "Curvy Is The New Skinny Thanks To Photoshop Phoniness" Will this madness ever stop?!?

Geekery:
♦Doctor Who miscellany

Helpful Hints:
♦How to use google more effectively

Lol:
♦Funny cat themed book

Noms:
♦Pumpkin and peanut butter puppy treats

Psychology/Mental Health:
♦"Going Public With Depression"

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Keeping Berries Fresh

My Raspberries are ripe, which is awesome. Keeping them fresh…isn’t easy.

Fresh summer berries + summer heat = mold.



Luckily I found a solution.

Take the berries out of their packaging(if they are store bought), and soak in a large bowl with 1 part vinegar, and 10 parts water. (Don’t put the fruit back in the original packaging, it can re-contaminate the berries.)

Remove the berries from the water and lay out on paper towels to dry.

Place in a clean zip-lock bag, or plastic container with lid. Keep refrigerated.

I actually use this to wash all of my produce. It works great.

~♦~♦~♦~♦~♦~♦~♦~♦~♦~~♦~♦~♦~♦~♦~♦~♦~♦~♦~~♦~♦~♦~♦~♦~♦~♦~♦~♦~

Unfortunatly I couldn't find where I found this tip out...sorry! If you google vinegar berry wash....Tada!